The arcade game night lasted for about an hour and a half, and after all headed their own separate ways, Masashi felt tired enough to go back to his room. But when it was ten o'clock, the usual nighttime announcement did not play.
"Good evening, everyone!" Monokuma said, wearing his usual smart white captain's outfit. "I know it's pretty late, but I have something special for you, and let me tell you, it's huge! I'll meet you at the dining room! See ya!"
Masashi grimaced at such news, for there was only one thing that Monokuma would playfully refer to.
"He's got another motive for us…"
He had, of course, expected Monokuma to tempt them into murder sooner or later, but still, the very announcement filled him with worry and dread at what awaited him. And even worse, he could not ready himself beforehand; he had no idea as to what Monokuma would show off this time. It could be something like memory theft, and he did not doubt that Brightmere Research might have more technology for like purposes. Or it could go with another threat, as they already had by kidnapping their loved ones somehow. It was such a shame that the night would end like this, given all the fun and mirth that the group had experienced in the arcade, but it could not be helped.
Before he left, however, he opened up his drawer and took out his motive video, its only contents. He skipped over much of the video, only playing the part where Keiko appeared.
Oh… Keiko… he thought as he took in the image of her plain face and her sweet chirpy voice, fearing that Monokuma might try to do something with his memories again. Even if this were a pitiful defense against it, Masashi still thought it good to be reminded of her face and her voice.
Afterwards, he put the video away in the drawer, and once ready, he left the room and saw that Kasumi and Haruyuki had left their rooms.
"Morning—I mean, evening!" Kasumi said, showing a small smile as she scratched the back of her head. "Sorry, I didn't expect us to see one another so quickly already! Looks like we've got another problem to deal with, huh?"
"That puts it lightly," Haruyuki answered, raising a finger calmly. "It will be interesting to see how the motive will affect us. I, of course, will not be swayed by lowly temptations, so you need not to fear me."
"What do you think about me, then?" Kasumi asked.
Haruyuki chuckled, showing a small smile. "It is my hope that you will not fall for it... but let us see how things play out, shall we?"
The three then made their way to the dining room, and Faye, Arashi, Sorao, Murphy, and Hikari were already there, standing in dread as they awaited their host. More importantly, there was a cart that carried something covered by a white sheet, a sign on the cart saying "DO NOT TOUCH". Judging by the size, Masashi imagined that it might be some kind of device, but there were many other things of the same size, so all he could do was guess.
"Hey, Arashi, are you all right?" Faye asked. "You look a bit pale."
Arashi nodded profusely. "Don't worry, I'm all right! I mean… I've been feeling a bit angry lately… and seeing that cart only makes me more upset… but I won't let Monokuma have his way!"
He then pumped his fists purposefully. "What use is it to get angry when it doesn't help anyone?!"
"Wow, you sure have come a long way from hitting Monokuma on the very first day," Sorao remarked, smirking. "Man, it feels as if that had been yesterday… and if today were that day, then Lady Inoshishi and the three others would still be alive..."
"We've already seen two people make the mistake of taking Monokuma's bait," Murphy added, sitting down at a nearby seat. "Hopefully, there won't be a third."
Hikari shuddered as she hid her hands in her kimono's sleeves, leering at the others. "I-I wish… Someone's bound to be stupid enough to do it, though… A-And we're still no closer to getting out of here."
Not long after, Tanjiro, Sayua, Mari, Kumi, and Sister Hikari came in. As Masashi had expected, the storyteller walked nervously, his face wan, his hand grasping Sister Hikari's black gown as if he were about to explore an unknown land for the first time. Meanwhile, Mari showed no signs of fright or dread at all, as if she were simply about to go to bed.
"I-I don't want any of us to die…!" Kumi whimpered. "I don't want any more bad things to happen!"
Sister Hikari patted his head gently. "There, there… Everything will be all right. I have hope that we shall weather through whatever temptations Monokuma may show us."
Sayua scoffed. "That bear can do whatever the hell he wants. I'm not gonna fall for it any time soon."
"Let's hope you're a woman of your word..." Tanjiro mumbled.
Last but not least, Maiha came into the room, looking unbothered as well and dressed in her usual smart black dress. Upon her entry, many of the others glanced at her, their eyes lacking in friendliness, to which response, she deepened her frown, her eyes chiding. Oddly enough, she had come from the port hallway instead of the starboard hallway, through which one coming from the lower decks must go.
"Why must you look at me so?" she asked. "Are you perhaps already ready to suspect me to be a future killer?"
"Well, I wasn't going to say that, but since you've already made the suggestion..." Sayua said snidely.
Maiha scoffed. "Yours is but a foolish thought. This may be beyond your limited imagination, but I've absolutely no desire to make my escape through murderous ends."
"You know, you could cut it out with the antagonism…" Faye pointed out. "You're not exactly making any friends here with that attitude of yours."
Masashi sighed, having already expected Maiha to act so, but he had not the disdain that many of the others had with her, nor was he willing to suspect her already. Antagonistic as she was, Maiha had never struck him to be a woman who would easily fall to temptation. He wondered what would possibly get her to break whatever moral standards held her back.
Afterwards, an ever so irksome laugh was heard through the room, heralding Monokuma's arrival. The others stepped back a bit once Monokuma showed up.
"Evening, passengers!" Monokuma piped, standing in front of the mysterious cart. "The weather's still rough outside, but I've heard that it'll get better! It'll be a perfect day to go fishing for some tasty tuna, don't you think?"
"Who cares about that?!" Sayua said in a shrill voice. "Just show us what we've come here for!"
"Yeah! Don't waste any more of our time!" Arashi said, his voice strained as he was trying to hold back his anger.
"Sheesh, youth nowadays! So distracted by your fancy gadgets and whatever that you can't take the time to relax and wait a bit…" Monokuma grumbled, crossing his arms. "Especially when what I've got for you is a real treat this time!"
Masashi raised his brow. "Wh-What are you talking about?"
Monookuma cackled as he dropped his mopey act. "I'm glad you asked! I've been thinking… our world is pretty unfair, isn't it? Many don't get the jobs they want… many don't ever find success in romance… many can't manage to eat anything other than the same old instant noodles… you get the point. And so!" He raised his paws. "I've decided to offer you guys a way to get ahead!"
He grabbed the cloth and pulled it off, revealing its contents at last.
Oh… Oh no… Masashi thought as he gaped at the contents.
The cart held several stacks of bills that were all neatly gathered together, looking like a model of an office building. All the others gaped at such a sight, as if it shone a light that showed them the way through a dark room.
"Ta-daaaaaaa!" Monokuma said. "It's money! Good old-fashioned money! Don't you think this is a wonderful gift? Twenty billion yen goes to the first person who gets away with killing!"
"Twenty billion yen?!" the others exclaimed, this time looking much more bewildered by the news.
"Th-That's… That's way too much money to even imagine!" Masashi said, feeling a bit dizzy about even having such cash.
Murphy scowled as he touched his straw hat. "I don't know how much that is back home, but I can tell it's no small number…"
"How horrible… putting a price on our lives!" Faye exclaimed, looking a little more upset than usual.
"Y-Yeah! Human life has no price!" Kasumi added as she touched her red masquerade mask. "There's no way I'd ever kill to make myself wealthy!"
Kumi quivered before the sight. "I-If I had that money, maybe I could use it to support the other orphans…"
"No, Kumi!" Sister Hikari said, aghast at his growing desire. "However good your intentions may be, you mustn't fall for the charm of money!"
"Alas, it's not so surprising to see that such an offer has been made, is it?" Haruyuki said, among the calmer ones in the group. "In our modern age, money is a common medium that we as a society have agreed upon to use for everyday transactions and agreements. Therefore, the more money one has, the more means one has to solve one's problems… or so we think, anyway."
"It certainly helps one get ahead..." Tanjiro added.
Monokuma chortled. "Precisely! If I had lots of money, I could pay off all the debts I took to open my clothing brand, or pay some girls to accompany me for the night, and all that jazz. Doesn't that sound like paradise?"
"Gah…! It's actually pretty tempting!" Arashi said, scowling. "I… I don't know what to do! Should I go for it, or not?!"
"Of course not!" Faye said, trying to sound encouraging. "Trust me, it's not worth it! Even if you get away with it, think about what society will think—"
"Who gives a hoot about society?!" Monokuma piped, rearing his paws angrily. "If I were you, I wouldn't care at all if people gave me dirty glances! They might think badly of me, but in the end, I'd have so much money that their opinions wouldn't matter to me at all. I mean, to me, they already don't, since society is full of anti-bear prejudice, but you get what I mean, don't you?"
"I-I..." Hikari mumbled, twiddling her fingers. "I-I'd never take that money... Th-There's no good in money gained through murder."
"Puhuhuhuhu! You may think that for now, but I advise that you take your time to think about all the possibilities in life that this money opens up! I'm sure a few of you have some problems that a little money can fix!"
Monokuma then faced away from them. "Now then... I bid you good night! May the charms of money rain upon you in your thoughts!"
And with that, the captain disappeared, leaving them alone with the money. For a while, no one said anything, the money asserting great dominance over minds. Eventually, someone spoke up.
"Well, I suppose it is clear what is to be done."
It was Maiha, who, Masashi had just noticed, had said nothing at all after Monokuma's revelation. She crossed her arms, her face tranquil and showing no signs of being spurred.
"H-huh? What are you talking about, Lady Maiha?" Kumi asked, trembling as he held up his teddy bear and covered the lower half of his face therewith.
"Is it not at all clear?" Maiha smiled a snide smile. "As you know, I am a member of high society. I am financially secure and thus have no problems that I have no means to solve. But aside from the late Lady Inoshishi, you are far more tempted by this occasion's motive. Clearly, it is far more reasonable to be suspicious of some of you."
"All right, so you're rich, and we're poor… Still, that doesn't make us monsters. We have standards, too," Murphy said, frowning grumpily.
"Yeah, I don't live in a particularly well-off home," Tanjiro said, his expression anxious, "but it doesn't mean I'll ever kill for cash."
Maiha shook her head, however. "What naivety you show! You may say that, but can you say the same for your peers? Can you truly believe that they have not already plotted to kill for something that can dramatically change their lives for the better?"
Such words, to Masashi's horror, were enough to make the others glance at one another with chary expressions, a seed of doubt sown.
"W-Well… I-I'm definitely sure that a few of us are thinking about it." It was Hikari, who looked at the others while glancing from the side. "For example… that Sayua woman's likely up to something already."
"What the hell are you saying?!" Sayua replied, giving her a nasty leer. "Why the hell do you think I'm planning to kill?"
"Y-You're a very superficial woman…" Hikari answered, not at all appearing frightened. "I-I bet you're easily wooed by material possessions."
Haruyuki chuckled. "I've had similar thoughts as well. You've never struck me as a spendthrift."
"Oh, fuck you!" Sayua slammed a nearby table with her hand. "I like my shopping and whatnot, but even I know better than to do it with money earned through killing! Besides, I've got plenty of money back home, so I don't have any financial problems."
"Why, is that true?" Maiha said, her surprise half-feigned this time. "If you're not lying, then I'm astounded, as your money has not made you any less repugnant in your speech and your attitude."
"If you ask me, the ones not to be trusted are the ones with actual money problems!" Arashi said. "They're the ones to watch out for!"
"Arashi, please don't say such a thing!" Sister Hikari said, raising her hands in protest. "Delving into our financial backgrounds will do us no good! It'll only serve to make us suspicious of one another!"
"Yeah, I totally agree with you there," Sorao added. "Thinking about it is what Monokuma wants—"
"Don't be silly," Maiha interjected. "We ought to see which of us benefit most from the motive. Then we can take proper precautions to prevent any murders from happening. That's the reasonable thing to do. Do you not agree, Masashi?"
It was then that he had realized what Maiha was about to propose.
"You're going to suggest that I lock certain people up, aren't you?"
All the others dropped their chatter as they gazed at the two, awaiting with some dread and excitement at this conversation's outcome.
"Do you think me to be a fool? I can see that you'll never become comfortable with the idea of locking up your peers," she replied. "Thus, I suggest a more moderate solution. You should instead keep the most liable ones under constant watch by their peers. They will still have their freedom, of course, but it'll ensure that they may not do anything suspicious."
Her tone was sharp and showed no surprise, her small but ever so telling smile unwavering.
"Maiha, don't you think you're acting a little too harsh here?" Faye asked, giving her a somewhat stern look as she tried to add more softness in her tone as compensation. "I understand why you think some of us to be shady and liable to kill, but even your new solution seems a bit too extreme here."
"Yeah, keeping people under constant surveillance isn't the answer," Masashi said. "It doesn't truly help rid us of our mistrust."
"And you insist on your silly exercises, then?" Maiha said with visible disgust. "Do you truly think that your so-called bond will overcome your peers' weakness for money?"
"Well… yeah."
Maiha threw up her hands in exasperation. "What foolish optimism! How can you trust your commoner peers to keep their word about not doing any bloodshed? Keep in mind that they don't necessarily have the same values as you with regard to killing. For all you know, some of them are simply feigning disgust at the idea."
Masashi took a few seconds to respond. "I… I simply think it's best to trust in the others. I don't want them to mistrust one another, and they can't do that if I can't trust them at all. As a leader, I have to act as a model."
Upon hearing his answer, Maiha deepened her frown and clicked her tongue as she crossed her arms, silently chiding him with her countenance.
"So… that's your plan, I see. I must say… I'm disappointed in you," Maiha said bitterly. "It's clear from your contributions in the class trials that you are not unintelligent, and so I thought that you would have open discourse. But to be refused so… it truly pains me to see you act like that."
"I'm sorry, Maiha, but I don't think your solution will work at all," he replied. "I want to continue our attempts to foster a bond. That's the best way to convince the others not to fall for Monokuma's trick."
Maiha shrugged her shoulders. "What a shame that things have ended up like this… Very well, then. I won't bother with my attempts anymore. That said..."
She raised a finger. "Before we head to bed, there's one more thing that I want to show you all. I discovered something rather… interesting tonight. While you were wastefully whiling your time away in the arcade, I decided to walk around. And what a discovery I made in the Memory Bank!"
What? The… Memory Bank?
Masashi had hardly gone there after the memory restoration; the machines had no more use, as the memories had already been given back or deleted, in Futaba's and Abraham's case. But he thought that the room served no more purpose, and so what was it that Maiha had discovered? Had Monokuma put something there? Could it be something that could help them escape this place?
"Really? What is it?" Faye asked.
"Unfortunately, my discovery could not be taken out of the room," Maiha continued, "and as I'd like to show you what I found, I ask that we head over to the Memory Bank at once." She chuckled, wagging a finger. "I guarantee you that it'll pique your interest, at the very least."
The others murmured in surprise, wondering aloud what she might be referring to. They insisted that Maiha tell them more details, but she refused, asking that they hold their questions until they saw the spectacle in the flesh.
"All right, then, let's go check it out," Masashi said, thinking it best that they see what it was at once.
Masashi led the way to the site of the discovery. Tonight's winds blew against the gang with all their might and main, as if wanting to stop them from satisfying their curiosity with knowledge deemed dangerous. Nonetheless, curiosity proved to be a greater force, and the group decided not to stop.
The Memory Bank still had its plain appearance, the light-blue floors and the white walls spotless. An eerie feeling entered Masashi's mind as he glanced at the spot where Futaba's corpse had formerly lain; she had left no sign, as if she had never been killed there in the first place, but his memory assured him otherwise. The sixteen pods were still there, and Masashi recognized his by its pixel-styled portrait of his face.
"Maiha… what was it that you found?" Masashi asked, looking at her carefully. He saw nothing about the room, and so he was clueless as to what her discovery had even been.
"It's very simple, actually," she began, her expression and her voice oddly calm. "I discovered a certain… deception."
"'Deception'?" Masashi looked askance at her.
"Yes. I was deceived in this very place, and I had been kept oblivious of that fact until tonight."
"I'm sorry, but I still don't get what you're trying to say."
A finger set on her chin, Maiha lowering her eyes slightly. "Is that so? I'm surprised, Masashi. You should know what I'm referring to. After all, the deception is yours."
For a short while, none said a word, wondering whether they had somehow misheard her. Masashi himself could hardly utter a word, as he could not remember ever trying to trick her, nor could he remember any possible cause for pulling a trick. And yet, seeing no uncertainty on her face, Maiha appeared to remember the occasion.
"Wh-What are you talking about?" Masashi asked. "The deception is mine...? I don't understand."
"Yeah, stop speaking in riddles, will you?" Sayua added.
Maiha sighed as she adjusted her white ballroom gloves. "Ah, Masashi, it seems that you've forgotten… how disappointing. Do you truly not remember our encounter here a few nights ago?"
It was those words that a certain memory from that very night rushed into his mind.
At long last, Masashi would soon discover what he had been made to forget of his lost darling. He now stood before his pod in the Memory Bank, his fingers itching to type in the password. He had not expected himself to be in this situation, but it was all thanks to luck that he would see what he had lost.
Alarmed, Masashi turned toward the door, only to freeze upon seeing the unbidden visitor.
"Wh-Wh-What… What are you doing here?" Masashi asked.
"I ought to ask you the same question, commoner!" Maiha answered, eyeing him with surprise.
Shock rushed through his veins as the memory of that fateful night played again and again, calmness waning in his disposition. He had utterly forgotten about that encounter, as Futaba's murder and other events had dominated his mind. But it seemed that she had a much better memory, a sneer now appearing on her face, as if mocking his lesser memory.
Wait a minute… the deception she mentioned… It wouldn't make any sense to call our meeting a deception, which means… Ah! But how?!
Masashi trembled, feeling his heart beat more and more quickly. Before he should say anything, however, Maiha faced the crowd, a hand raised.
"Do you recall the day when Monokuma stole our memories of our darlings?" Maiha said. "The next night, after nighttime began, I went out on a walk, since I could not sleep, and when I came down to this deck, I saw a boat on the other side! Curious, I entered this room, and whom should I encounter but Masashi!"
Her answer drew a few gasps from the audience.
"Masashi… is it true you came here one night, and you didn't tell us about it?" Murphy said, his frown waxing in his grumpiness.
Masashi winced as he tried to come up with a good answer. Seeing the uncertain expressions of the group, he now understood what she was now up to. She was done trying to convince him to follow her suggestion through argument, and so she now aimed for his character instead, wishing to show that he was unfit for leadership.
"I… was here," he answered. "I came here, and I happened to meet Maiha when she came in."
"What, really?" Kasumi asked. "Well, that's kind of weird… but it's nothing major, if you ask me! Seems like you were simply taking a walk, even if this is a pretty weird place to visit."
"Indeed. After all, Maiha also came here that night," Haruyuki added. "In my opinion, she warrants as much suspicion as he."
Maiha scoffed as she looked at him disapprovingly. "He claimed that he had simply strolled here… but if his misdeed had simply been coming here late at night, then I'd not have brought this issue up."
"What? What the hell are you suggesting?" Sayua asked. "Are you saying that he was up to some fishy business?"
"I do not know his intentions… but I know what he was doing," she replied, sneering. "Recall that as part of the motive, Monokuma took away the memories of our darlings. He stowed them in these very pods."
"Oh!" Kasumi said, nearly starting. "That's right! We could access our pods only if we knew our darlings' names! It was part of the trick that Abraham used to frame me!"
"Wait a minute… since you're bringing that up," Murphy said, looking more and more bewildered, "are you saying... you saw Masashi use his pod?"
"I didn't see him use his pod, exactly… but I know for sure he did." Maiha pointed at Masashi's pod. "As you know, our pods record the history of their use. It was that very function that Abraham exploited as part of his scheme."
Ah! Masashi thought, his chest slightly smarting as if a pin had pierced through it.
"And even though the pods do not contain our memories anymore," Haruyuki added, "the machines themselves seem to still work, so the History section is accessible."
"So if Masashi used his pod that night, then it should be on his History section!" Arashi concluded before he turned toward Masashi with a firm expression. "Masashi! You have your memories back, so you should know the password to your pod! What is it?!"
"There's no need for his answer," Maiha said, smiling a confident smile. "I already know what his History section says, and so of course I know the password. It's his younger sister's name, 'Keiko Kousaki'."
"WHAT?!" Masashi exclaimed, staring at her with utter shock and confusion. He had concluded that Maiha had somehow guessed what he had been up to, but never had he ever imagined Maiha uttering Keiko's name.
Maiha pointed at Murphy. "You there! Go into the pod and check the History section. You will see that I'm telling the truth about Masashi's lie."
The farmer nodded and rushed over to the keyboard that was a part of the pod. After he entered the pod, all stood still and looked at the pod with bated breath. Masashi himself tried as hard as he could to maintain his composure, images of disaster dominating his mind. About half a minute, the pod opened up, Murphy coming out with a grim expression.
"It's all true," he answered gravely. "The History section says it was used on the second night from 10:34 PM to 12:25 AM. It was also used on Day 7 at 9:45 PM."
"Day 7 is today, of course, and it is I that used it that time," Maiha answered. "How else would I have found out that Masashi had lied to me?"
The audience gasped as they looked at Masashi with disapproving looks.
"Masashi… You lied to us," Sorao began, a bit of anger in his eyes. "You had access to your memories and went behind our backs to look at them!"
"Y-Yeah… Wh-What do you have to say about that?" Hikari asked, giving him the evil eye as she scowled.
"Masashi, please explain yourself!" Sister Hikari said beseechingly. "Is there a reason why you didn't tell us about this?"
"Sir Masashi... why?" Kumi whimpered, his voice shaky, his eyes full of unease. "Wh-Why did you hide this from us?"
Though he could not ignore their growing confusion and desire for an explanation, Masashi could answer none of their inquiries, as he too was confused on how things had unfolded like this. Before he could answer their questions, however, he needed to know one thing.
"H-How…?" he said, looking at Maiha, feeling as if his energy were being sucked out of his body. "How do you know Keiko's name? I've never told you—"
"You're truly more forgetful than I thought!" Maiha said, looking truly surprised. "Have you forgotten the conversation that we had when we explored the pirates' cove?"
"Ugh... What is this place, anyway?" Masashi asked as he rubbed his head.
"I assume that it is a storage room," Maiha said. "The ones who put these things here were obviously thoughtless. This room is an utter pigsty."
"Well, I can't say that I care much for how things are organized," Sister Hikari said. "I would clean it up, but I suppose it would take a long while… and there are other things that I would rather do."
"Yeah, that I understand," Masashi said. "Maybe if my younger sister were here, it would be no problem to tidy this place up."
"Your younger sister?" Sister Hikari said. "Ah, is she good at cleaning?"
Masashi chuckled. "Oh, she's more than that! She's the Ultimate Maid!"
"Really?" Maiha said, eyes widened. "What is her name?"
"I don't know whether you've heard of her, but her name's Keiko," Masashi answered. "She's working at some rich man's mansion. At least, she's supposed to be…"
"Ah… is that so?" Maiha said, who grew quieter as she set her hands together.
"No… No way…!" he groaned as he bitterly remembered the innocent conversation's memory. Never would he have thought that Maiha would remember her name and use it against him.
"After you left for your silly affair in the arcade, I recalled our encounter here at the Memory Bank," Maiha continued, sneering a little as she lowered her eyes. "I began to wonder whether you had actually been truthful about your reason for coming here. And as you had also told me your younger sister's name, I came here to see whether I had been right all along. It's clear now that your trustworthiness as a leader is rather questionable, to say the least!"
"Well, Masashi?" Sorao asked, a fist clenched. "What have you got to say for yourself?"
Masashi said nothing at first as his last doubt was put to rest at all. Maiha had been lucky that it was Keiko's name that served as the password, and the worst part of all was that Masashi could have seen this coming. Maiha was definitely cunning; after the first motive had been given, if it had not been for Atsushi, she would have made the group turn against Futaba. But this time, there was no one to help him. Only he knew why he had done his deed.
"I… I admit it," he began. "I came here that night to see the memories of my younger sister, and I lied to Maiha about it."
The others gasped once more, now that it had come from the horse's mouth. Despite their horrified expressions, Masashi forced himself to continue.
"I'm sorry, everyone…" he said, feeling as if it took great efforts to even utter his words. "But after my memories had been stolen, I didn't even know that I had a younger sister! For a whole day, I didn't know that there was someone very dear and irreplaceable to me!"
He sighed as he lowered his eyes, trying to suppress his tears. "That's why when I learned about her… I got really worked up. I couldn't believe that I'd lived out a day of my life without being aware that I had a younger sister! It was so unbelievable… and I wanted answers as to what my life truly was! That's all, I swear!"
Once he stopped, he took in the audience's bewildered gazes, hoping that they would at least show their understanding of his reasoning, but expecting to be condemned by a few. None said a word, looking at one another anxiously to see which would speak first and thus show whether he was to be forgiven or condemned. Though they did not appear to outright condemn him, it was clear that he had lost a great deal of trust from them, however innocent his intentions had been.
As Masashi thought to make another apology, however, someone from the audience spoke up.
"Hey, Masashi… I have one question for you."
The one who had said it with a clear and cool voice was Sorao, who appeared a little concerned as he moved nearer to him.
"What is it?" Masashi asked, wondering what he would ask him. He could not tell whether Sorao was on his side or was leaning toward supporting him, but he wanted to think that Sorao would back him up.
"You said that you had 'learned' that you had a younger sister," Sorao said. "How exactly did you find that out?"
Masashi froze, being reminded of his other terrible secret.
No… I… I can't answer that!
His deception over the discovery of his lost darling's identity was awful, but at least somewhat understandable, but there was no way that he could let the others find out about his motive video, the very thing that had led him to such discovery. It was far more egregious, even though he had meant no harm when he had decided to hide it from the others.
I'm sorry, everyone… Masashi thought as he grew tense. But I have to lie to you one more time!
"I wrote my younger sister's name down before Monokuma took away our memories," Masashi said, trying to sound as collected as he could. "I put the note away somewhere and found it the next night—"
"You lie."
To Masashi's shock, Sorao had answered him thus, looking at him with an increasingly displeased expression. All, even Maiha, looked at the musician with bemused gazes.
"What… What are you talking about?" Masashi replied at once. "What makes you think I'm lying?"
"Come on, Masashi… Your body language and your blatant attempt to sound convincing gave it away," Sorao replied, opening up his arms earnestly. "You're hiding the true cause of how you came to remember your younger sister again, and you don't want us to find out, do you?"
Masashi suppressed a gasp as he wondered whether Sorao had somehow found out about the motive video, but he figured that Sorao, being close to Futaba at the time, would have confronted him about it much earlier. And he had never taken the video out ever since he had sneaked it into his room. Sorao, then, was simply guessing, but it was a guess that was right on the mark.
N-No... he thought. This can't be happening...!
"I'm disappointed in you!" Sorao pointed at Masashi purposefully. "You say that you're sorry for lying to us, but I've just caught you lying to us again!"
"A-Aah…!" Masashi said with a strained voice. "I… I…"
"If you're not lying to us," Sorao said, "then let's search your room, shall we? We'll see for ourselves whether you're hiding anything else from us!"
Arashi clapped his hands together. "Oh, that's a good idea! Nothing wrong with further scrutiny, right?!"
"Yeah, I say that's only fair," Faye said. "I don't really want to believe Masashi's hiding anything from us… but after learning that he lied to us once about a somewhat important matter, I can't say I trust him enough to believe him..."
That most of the others showed agreement to Sorao's demand quelled all Masashi's hopes that he might save himself from this situation. Of all people, he had not expected Sorao to suddenly call him out and demand that his room be searched. He looked at the crowd, hoping to see anyone who might gainsay this suggestion, but to his horror, there were none who seemed keen to say anything against this; most were supportive of the idea, and among the few that seemed apathetic or apprehensive about it were Tanjiro, Haruyuki, Kasumi, and Mari. Strangely enough, he had expected Maiha to be overjoyed at the idea, but she instead looked puzzled by this turn of events, saying nothing as the others showed their support.
"Well, then, let's check it out!" Sorao said. "Let me lead the way!"
Without further discussion, the group began their journey from the Memory Bank to their abodes in the woodland kingdom.
Why… Why have things unfolded like this? Masashi thought during the boat ride through the river. Is this what I deserve for not being truthful in the first place?
Such thoughts kept him silent throughout the journey.
When the group arrived back at the woodland kingdom's fourth deck, Sorao bade Masashi open the door. As soon as he did, Sorao and the other members of the throng rushed into the room, and Sorao headed over to the drawers.
"What the… What the hell is this?!"
And then came the dreaded moment: Sorao took out the shattered motive video, at which sight all the others gasped.
"Th-That… That looks like those videos we had a long time ago!" Arashi exclaimed, his pointing finger shaking.
"But how?" Sister Hikari said, gaping. "Didn't Futaba, Atsushi, and Mari destroy them all?"
"They did… at least, we thought they did," Haruyuki said, raising a finger. "But if I remember correctly, it was Masashi that volunteered to clean up the mess."
Sayua snapped her fingers as she looked at Masashi with an unfriendly grimace. "So you saw that your motive video was still working and thought to hide it from us, didn't you?! Well, looks like the jig's up!"
"W-Wait… does that thing still work?" Hikari asked.
"I can't think of any other reason why Masashi would bring it here," Sorao replied. "But just to be sure..."
He turned on the video, and for the next minute, Masashi used all his will to keep his composure as all the others listened to every word and watched every sight in the video. They learned that Keiko, the Ultimate Maid, was now imprisoned in some dark, foul place, having apparently been kidnapped. By the time the video was done, Masashi had begun to feel a great pain in his chest, as if Sorao had ripped it open and exposed his heart for all to see.
"It's all clear now…" Sorao muttered quietly, disgust written all over his face. "Masashi… you found this video while cleaning up the mess. You brought it back here and hid it from the rest of us. And it was this very video that let you remember your younger sister after the second motive was given."
"So that's it," Murphy said, rubbing his earth in astonishment. "He went to the Memory Bank afterwards and met Maiha after he watched some of his memories…"
At this point, there was no point in trying to lie anymore. The ugly truth had been made known to all, and now he must reap what he had sown.
"Yeah… it's all true," Masashi answered softly.
"But why, Sir Masashi?" Kumi asked, eyes watering as if he had broken his favorite toy. "Why… Why did you lie to us? Why didn't you tell us you had your video?"
"I… I wanted something to remember Keiko by," he answered, nearly on the verge of tears. "The only other thing I had of her was my memories… and even then, they'd later be erased. In a way, I was lucky that I still had my video."
"So it's meant to be some kind of keepsake?" Tanjiro said, looking slightly more sympathetic than most of the others.
"I see…" Sorao said. "Well, now… time to finish what Lady Inoshishi started."
And at that moment, Sorao raised the motive video up high.
"Wait, no!"
But Masashi's cry fell on deaf ears, as Sorao swung it down onto the floor, the impact startling the others. The video was broken into sundry pieces, which were strewn throughout the floor.
"There... now that's one problem taken care of," Sorao muttered.
As the others gaped at such a sight, Masashi rushed there and knelt down, confirming that the video was no more. His tears began to drip down onto the remains, while he took in the realization that he could no longer listen to her voice or see her charming face unless in the realm of dreams and remembrance.
It might have been only a video, but it had been the only physical proof that there was a girl who was younger than he by two years, who was his younger sister, and whose name was Keiko Kousaki. And now, it was no more.
A moment later, the musician sighed as he set a finger on his chin, frowning. "You know, man, it's pretty disappointing that I have to say it, but clearly, you're not as harmless and truthful as I thought you were. Why, you ought to be locked up."
All the others gasped.
"W-Wait a minute..." Masashi looked up with an astounded face, wondering whether Sorao had misspoken. "You don't mean that, do you?"
"No, I mean every word of it," Sorao answered, opening up his arms as if annoyed. "You're a threat, and you deserve to be treated as such."
"B-But..."
"You've been deceiving us since the early stages of the killing game," Sorao went on, his tone no less harsh, a hint of anger in his eyes. "You hid your motive video from us, even though you knew full well that keeping it around would only tempt you into killing. And you lied about the state of your memories. You knew full well that seeing your memories would tempt you, and yet you did it anyway!"
Sorao stepped between him and the crowd, blocking his view of the others as if he were trying to protect them.
"You had no good reason to hide your deceptions from us! The only reason I can think of is that you indeed were tempted by the motives and would have killed, if Haruka and Abraham had not struck first!" he declared. "You don't actually truly have a plan to prevent any murders or help us escape, do you?!"
Masashi only flinched at such words, unable to think of anything to rebut it, and his silence was enough to mar his name even more.
Why…? Why, Sorao, why…?
All this time, Masashi had thought that Sorao was a cool and understandable fellow that simply wanted the best for everyone, even if his decisions were questionable. And yet, right now, he could not but feel a certain cruelty coming from him, as if he had been mistaken all this time. Though he had never entrusted Sorao with any special task or endowed him any special position, the sting that he felt from his verbal attacks did not hurt any less, as if it had come from a traitor.
He looked at the others, hoping that they would reject the proposal, but surprisingly enough, the reception seemed far too warm. Most of the crowd now looked at him warily as if he were some beast. Even Sister Hikari, who was among the few that had advocated that they give Kasumi another chance, looked uncertain at best, glancing down at her hands as she grimaced. Kumi, the usually blithesome storyteller, glanced away as well, uncertainty and fear all over his face.
"Well, now, let's make it official," Sorao said. "If you're in favor of removing Masashi from his leadership role and locking him up, say 'yea'—"
"Wait, hold on."
A certain voice interrupted Sorao's verbal assault, and Sorao turned around with a surprised one who had spoken up stepped forth from the crowd, and of all people, it was Mari, who had kept a nearly calm countenance all this time. Even when the motive video had been revealed, Masashi remembered only mild surprise from her.
"Huh? What's this all about?" Sorao asked.
"You said that Masashi didn't have a plan to help us escape," Mari said, "but I'm afraid you're mistaken about that."
"What?!" Sayua exclaimed, a few others crying out in surprise as well. "You're saying he's got a plan?! This is the first I've heard of it!"
Mari looked unbothered by the sudden inquiry. "Well, that's only natural, since Masashi thought it up not too long ago. After our arcade game night, Masashi came up to me and told me that he'd thought of a plan to potentially help us."
"Really?! What is it?!" Arashi said excitedly.
"To put it simply, his logic was that rescue forces might actually be having a hard time looking for us," Mari answered, crossing her arms, her expression blank. "He thought that we needed to send out a message."
"A… message?" Faye said, looking at her skeptically.
Mari nodded. "We need to send off some kind of distress signal so as to help rescue forces notice us. Of course, Monokuma controls the ships, so we're greatly limited to what kind of distress signals we can send… but there is one option that we can try."
"O-One option…?" Hikari asked. "Wh-Whatever it may be, it'll likely do nothing…"
"Hey, come on, Hikari, at least let her finish, will you?" Murphy said, looking less grumpy than usual. "The way she's saying it, she sounds confident it may work."
Mari waited a few seconds before continuing. "Masashi looked around the closet by the staff lounge some more and noticed that there were actually some chemicals stored in containers. And with some of the other things available to us, we could try to make flares or fireworks of some kind."
"Fireworks, you say?!" Arashi said, the pyrotechnician in him clearly excited.
Sorao frowned, not looking convinced by her words. "I don't understand: why did he go to you instead of any of us about his plan?"
Masashi tensed up as he awaited Mari's answer, Sorao looking at her with stern eyes.
"Because he wanted to know when the best time to launch a distress signal was, that's all," Mari answered. "It's been raining hard lately, and so he thought that the signal would be better noticed under clear weather. So he thought for some reason that I might have some expertise in predicting the weather."
"And then what did you say?" Haruyuki asked.
"I told him I didn't. I'm a phenologist, not a weather girl," Mari answered, chuckling a little. "But… I promised him that I'd try to help him with his plan, since I thought it was worth a shot. Of course, we would've told you about it earlier, had it not been for Monokuma's new motive and Maiha's revelation about Masashi's ridiculous, thoughtless deception. Isn't that right, Masashi?"
Masashi nodded hesitantly. "Th-That's right… I'm sorry that you've been told about this only now, but the circumstances… didn't really let me say anything about it earlier."
"Is that all you have to say?" Sorao shook his head disapprovingly. "Come on, you think you're off the hook now because of that?"
"Well, I sure think so!"
It was Kasumi, who looked at him with a sheepish smile as she opened up her arms a little.
"You say that Masashi doesn't have a plan, but it sure sounds like he has one, so I can't but think you're a tad harsh toward him!" Kasumi replied. "And besides, Masashi, you gave me a chance to show I'm truly sorry for my own deception. So even though you've been a bit untruthful with us, I think it's clear that you still want to help us, and this is a way to make it up to us! So what kind of girl would I be if I didn't return the favor?"
"Kasumi…" Masashi muttered as he raised his head, a little happiness seeping into his voice.
"I… agree as well." This time, it was Tanjiro, who looked as meek as ever, though there was a slight trace of boldness on his face.
"What? Tanjiro, buddy, are you serious?" Sorao said, eyes slightly widened. "Don't you understand Masashi's not really trustworthy? He's lied to us twice, man!"
"Even so… I don't think it's right to condemn him when he wants to make up for it," Tanjiro replied, shrinking back a little. "He's come up with a plan that can help us get out of here. I think it's clear he still cares about us."
Sighing out of annoyance, Sorao turned to the others, only to grimace upon seeing the lack of utter condemnation on their faces.
"I confess, I'm a little disappointed in what Masashi's done," Sister Hikari said. "Still... I'd like to place my faith in him one more time."
"I… I think so as well!" Kumi added, holding his teddy bear. "Sir Masashi's always seemed so kind! Even though it was bad to lie to us, I still want us all to get along… I don't want us to keep fighting!"
"Y-Yeah!" Arashi said. "Besides, the plan may work! As the Ultimate Pyrotechnician, I can help with fireworks or anything like them!"
Murphy scoffed as he crossed his arms. "I admit, my trust in him has dwindled a bit... but I suppose one more chance to let him fix this won't hurt."
And soon enough, the others fell in line, agreeing that Masashi should stay as leader as he worked to carry out his plan of sending out a distress signal. Unfortunately, their responses came with a great deal of doubt toward him; even with their consent to his continuing leadership, the trust that they had formerly held had, of course, not come back fully intact.
"Y-You guys...!" Masashi muttered. Still, at least it was better than being fully shunned.
Interestingly enough, the only one who had said nothing was Maiha, who looked more troubled by this turn of events than irritated. Masashi could have sworn that she had given Sorao the evil eye, but such an expression quickly disappeared, as she redirected her gaze to the other members of the crowd.
"What, is this what you guys all think?" Sorao scratched his head in befuddlement before he looked at Masashi. "Well…I guess the others are willing to give you a chance to atone for what you've done. If that's the case, then…"
Sorao paused for a few seconds before he continued. "I guess I should admit I was wrong about my approach… I owe you an apology, dude."
"An apology?" Masashi said.
"Yeah…" Sorao lowered his eyes as he heaved a sigh. "Now that I think about it… I got a bit carried away with my judgment of you. When I found the video, I got pretty angry that you'd deceived Lady Inoshishi and the others… so I naturally jumped to the worst conclusion. I'm very sorry about it."
Sorao then bowed down, and from his voice, it seemed that Sorao had seen that he had acted irrationally with his accusations. Masashi would like nothing more than to accept them and let bygones be bygones. He should be appreciative of the fact that Sorao had not pushed the issue anymore, having quickly figured out that he had pushed things a bit too far.
And yet, a different desire lay in Masashi's mind. It was the desire of saying, right before his face, "no". He could not point to any particular cause, but he sensed that Sorao had not truly felt sorrowful for his rash behavior, saying those empty words only because Masashi had barely managed to convince the others.
"Don't worry... it's no problem now."
Masashi wished that this were a befitting time to speak of his true feelings. But this was a time of apology, and it would be wrong to confront him about it now.
Once he had apologized to the others a bit more, Masashi asked all but Mari to leave his room, as he wanted to speak with her alone about the details of the plan to send a distress signal. After he bade them good night, the others left one by one, and Masashi made sure that the door should be absolutely shut.
Mari sat down on a chair, looking calmer than her usual self. Her body appeared to sway left and right ever so slightly, though she was noticeably trying to stay still for once.
"Now then, where do you want to begin?" she asked.
Masashi turned around, the hour and recent events having wearied him greatly.
"Why…? Why did you lie for my sake?" Masashi began.
She said nothing for a few seconds before answering.
"If I hadn't passed off my plan as yours, Sorao would've been convinced the others that you weren't actually helping them by finding a way to escape. Then you would have likely been locked up, I think."
"But why?" he asked. "Why did you decide to come up with the plan at the last second to save me?"
She leaned back on her seat as she set her hands on the sides of the seat's cushion. "Well, let me make one thing clear: I actually thought up the plan after we left the arcade. I looked around, saw what was available to us, and recalled what I'd once read about fireworks a long time ago. I was going to talk to you about it after tomorrow's breakfast… but needless to say, things were sped up a bit."
Masashi lowered his head. "And so it happened that you found an opportunity to introduce your plan..."
"I admit, the situation played out in my favor, since you were forced to accept my suggestion to save yourself," she said, "but I'm pretty sure that you would've accepted even if I had asked you normally."
Masashi sighed as she chuckled, her smile showing a little pride. He must admit that it had been a rather clever way to guarantee that he should accept her plan. Still, he was confused about her decision, and so he bade her answer the question once more. Mari said nothing for a few seconds, and he did not respond, preferring to let her take her time.
"The truth is… I enjoy spending time with you," she answered as she flicked away stands of her long black hair. "You rode the Haunted Woods ride with me… you asked me to go on a walk with you... and you played Battle on Blue Earth with me only a few hours ago… I had a lot of fun in those moments. It'd be a shame if you were suddenly gone."
Masashi, finding himself flustered, grabbed a nearby chair and sat by her. "Well, I admit it, I think you're fun to hang around as well. Still… weren't you concerned that I'd done these things behind your backs? I wouldn't exactly be surprised if you didn't think highly of me anymore."
She shrugged her shoulders as she showed a small smile. "I've never gotten the impression that you're a bad person, really, so I thought it was the right thing to lie for your sake. And even if I turn out to be wrong… whatever happens happens."
Even so, Masashi could not feel fully happy that things had turned out this way. The ugly truth had been shown at last, and he would have likely been locked up if it had not been for yet another lie. And this time, he was not the only one participating in this pretense. He wished that it were not so, but seeing that the other outcome would be worse, much as he loathed it, he must play along with the new lie.
"Wow… I… I guess I owe you one, huh?" he said. "I ought to repay you later."
"Repay me, you say?" Mari smiled once more, her eyes glinting. "If you want to repay me, get me some chocolate and read me some books on phenology."
"Well, I'll try to do the former, but as for the latter, I don't know where to begin—"
"Oh, if you don't know what books to begin with, I have a list!" Mari clapped her hands together, much energy entering her voice. "I'm pretty sure I've seen a few such books in the library!"
Oh, boy… Masashi thought, feeling even more flustered by her greater energy. She really seems serious about making me read those books…!
The more he thought about it, the more certain he grew that Mari was among the few that he could rely upon at a time of need. He wanted to say the same for the others, but his relationships with them were now in jeopardy because he had broken their trust. And Mari seemed to be more normal than the others, which fact appealed to him. Indeed, he could use someone like her...
Without thinking, Masashi said aloud his thought.
"What do you think about becoming my deputy?"
Mari dropped her energetic disposition, resuming her usual calm attitude. "Hmm? Your deputy?"
Masashi paused for a few seconds, taking in his own words.
"Yeah… I've been thinking that I may need one to help me manage the group," he answered. "I think you'll make a good deputy. You seem to be able to keep a cool head in a crisis, and..." Masashi took a few seconds to gather his thoughts. "I think… having another perspective will help me greatly. I feel I can always go to you if I'm in any trouble."
For a while, Mari said nothing, appearing to be busy thinking, though Masashi had the impression that with such behavior, she might doze off sooner or later. Masashi began to think that his request had been a bit silly, but he figured that if it were silly, it was better that he be told so.
Eventually, she gave her answer.
"That sounds good to me."
Masashi smiled a bright smile, now that she showed her willingness to work with him, and his doubt was gone. "Thanks, Mari. I appreciate your help. At a time like this, I'll need your help more than ever. In fact, I want to ask you about something."
"Oh? Already? What is it?"
"It's about what happened after the motive was given," he explained. "Maiha and Sorao both played a key role in destroying most of the goodwill I had with the others. But there's one thing I don't get: it's easy to see Maiha's motivation for trying to overthrow me, but why did Sorao suddenly go after me?"
For some reason, Sorao had insisted that because of his deception, Masashi had likely planned to attempt a murder. It was such a foul and scathing accusation that Masashi could hardly believe that it was Sorao saying it. And though a little upset that Sorao had almost gotten him locked up, Masashi was sure that there had been something strange about his demeanor.
"Well, Sorao said that he got angry after seeing you had the video," Mari said, "so he felt inclined to think the worst of you… but you don't really believe that, do you?"
Masashi shook his head. "I don't know why… but when I heard his apology… something about it came off as fake. It was as if he had said it just because it was what was asked for."
He tried to come up with possible motivations, and at first glance, it seemed obvious that Sorao had wanted to overthrow him and become the new leader. But each time, he could not avoid a certain oddity: if Sorao had wanted the leadership all along, then why had he refused the position in the first place?
The others had recommended that he become the new leader since he had acted as Futaba's deputy, but he had refused, saying that he was still recovering from Futaba's, his dear lover's, death. But the more he thought about it, the more Masashi doubted that Sorao had been telling the truth, or at least the whole truth.
"Hey, Mari," Masashi said, thinking it best that he hear her opinion. "What do you think Sorao's goal is?"
Mari gave no answer as she stood up from her seat. When Masashi glanced over to the side, he saw her walking back and forth in one spot.
"Hmm? What are you doing?" he asked.
"I find that walking helps me think when I'm stuck," she answered. "It's one reason why I don't really like the class trials. Why does Monokuma have us stand only on podiums all the time?"
"Maybe he can't afford chairs," he said cheekily to lighten up the mood.
After Mari walked about for a few more seconds, she stopped and sat back on her seat, setting her hands on her dark-blue hoodie's sleeves.
"Here's my hypothesis," Mari said. "I don't think the leadership's something that Sorao cares about that much. It may be important to some extent, but I think that's not his main focus. No, I think it's more to do with you."
"M-Me?" Masashi pointed at himself, to which Mari nodded in response. "You mean, he has some kind of grudge against me?"
"Maybe. Have you ever done something that pisses him off?"
Masashi shook his head. "No... I'm pretty sure I've never crossed him the whole time we've been here."
Mari tilted his head as she leaned back on her seat. "Just to be sure... you had never met him before this killing game began, right?"
He racked his brain for all the times when he had seen him or even heard of him. As far as he could remember, before the killing game, he had never seen him, met him, or even heard of him. But then again, he was not exactly into the music scene, being more into games and the like.
Besides, even if Sorao had met him in the past, it would not have explained why Sorao had been friendly toward him until tonight. Could his friendliness have been fake the whole time, then? Or could something have suddenly changed in Sorao, such that he would betray him? It was frustrating to think about his true intentions, given that all they had was speculation.
Thinking to look at it from a different angle, he tried to remember whether Keiko might have had anything to do with him, since she might have by chance met him or something. But after a while of recollection, it only ended in nothing gained. In the end, Sorao Mineta remained a figure whose motivations were shrouded in mystery.
Wait, that's not right... he thought. Tanjiro has prior history with him. And he even had a few things to say about him!
As soon as Sorao left the room, Tanjiro let out a great sigh of relief as he sat back against the couch, ease returning to his expression. It was as if to Tanjiro, Sorao were a weed whose sight was enough to ruin his otherwise pleasant walk through a garden.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," Tanjiro said after a while, looking at Masashi normally, though his voice still showed a hint of weakness. "I was rather embarrassing with my behavior, didn't I?"
"I wouldn't say 'embarrassing', but… you were pretty awkward," Masashi replied. "You didn't seem at all willing to want to talk with Sorao."
Tanjiro let out a small groan. "I know… But I can't help it. You may not see it, but I have good reason not to feel easy around him."
The writer shook his head, his eyes lowered. "Since we were neighbors, it's not so surprising that we attended the same elementary school and the same middle school… From the very start, he was the popular kid that all loved, whereas I was the quiet one that hardly anyone wanted to hang out with."
"And I take it that he never tried to help you improve your standing?"
"Well, I asked him a few times whether I could join him and his friends on their activities…" Tanjiro answered, his voice growing quieter. "Sorao always said that he'd think about it… but in the end, he never bothered to reach out to me. He always pretended as if my asking him had never happened. I admit, I often doubted whether I remembered things right… but looking in hindsight, I'm very sure that Sorao was lying to me."
"Wait… Hang on a minute, Tanjiro," Masashi said, realizing something. "You're talking about what he was like when he was a kid. But isn't it possible that Sorao's changed since then? Maybe he grew up a bit when he started high school."
Tanjiro, however, sighed as he looked up at Masashi with a slightly surer expression. "I want to think that… but I assure you, he's the Sorao that I've known all this time. Trust me when I say that you shouldn't trust him at all."
A few seconds later, a familiar feeling of doubt crept into his mind. Last time, Masashi had chosen to believe in Sorao and so had suppressed this doubt. But this time, the doubt felt much stronger, and the wound from Sorao's betrayal still smarted him enough to no longer put up any resistance against it. As doubt filled his mind more and more, Masashi recalled every moment when he had interacted with Sorao.
Then... all those times... were they... fake?
He recalled the first time when they had talked.
He recalled the time when Sorao had become lovers with Futaba.
He recalled the time when Sorao had lamented about the need to lie to Futaba about her former lover.
He recalled the time when Sorao had recommended that he become the leader.
He recalled the time when Sorao had relaxed with Tanjiro while Sayua had been playing her game.
He recalled the time when Sorao had said that he worked to make the world happy—
Stop! I... I can't bear it anymore!
At long last, the last resistance to his doubt fell.
He could no longer believe in the Sorao that the world knew.
He could no longer trust that Sorao had the best intentions for not only him but also the others.
He could no longer think of those times the same ever again.
"Why…?" Masashi muttered as he looked down at his shaking hands. "Why couldn't things have stayed the same?"
Of course, he knew the answer: Sorao had never been so truthful a man as he had thought him to be.
Even with Tanjiro's warning, he had mindlessly chosen to trust in him; Masashi wondered whether he would have somehow changed his mind about Sorao before his betrayal. Unfortunately, given that he had strongly believed that the group needed to trust one another, Masashi doubted that he would have given up his steadfastness. To put it another way, by this point, if Sorao had never betrayed him, he would have never believed in Tanjiro's tale of his two-sidedness. With how much it felt as if it had been set in stone, Masashi wondered whether all this had been destined to happen.
No… Don't blame fate for this, Masashi. You're not blameless in this.
Yes, all this had started because he had chosen to hide his motive video. Of course, it was rather uncanny that after Futaba had bidden that all the motive videos be destroyed, his had been the only survivor. He had attributed it to luck, but now that all this happened, could he even call it "luck"? His given title of Ultimate Lucky Student grew less and less fitting as the killing game went on.
Whether or not it had been luck, in the end, he had willingly hidden the video. It was his choice that had led him to this outcome.
"Are you all right, Masashi?" Mari asked.
Masashi sighed as he raised his head, looking at the ceiling blankly. "Not really... how can I, when it's clear Sorao may have never been showing us his true self? The Sorao that I thought I knew may be truly a lie..."
There was the very small chance that Sorao had somehow meant well with his deeds, but at this point, he could not believe it. Sorao's betrayal had ground his willingness to believe in him into bits that had later been scattered away.
"Hey, now that I think about it..." he said. "Sorao decided to betray me after Maiha had revealed my true reason for going to the Memory Bank. Could it be... those two are secretly working together?"
To his surprise, however, Mari shook her head. "They may be alike in their antagonism toward you, but their differences make an alliance between them unlikely. The greatest difference is that in their wealth. Maiha's rich and openly shows her dislike of commoners, whereas Sorao is poor and tries to act all cool and relaxed."
"Oh... I guess you have a point there."
"And another thing: even if Maiha somehow overlooked that difference, her deeds don't suggest that she was in league with Sorao," Mari continued. "When Sorao attacked you, not once did she utter a word of support."
"Yeah, she looked confused the whole time after my motive video had been exposed," Masashi added. "So I guess it's safe to say that Maiha and Sorao aren't in cahoots or anything."
Funnily enough, the conclusion soothed him a bit, since it meant that Maiha's intentions had more or less been what Masashi assumed them to be. She had simply wanted to persuade the others that he ought to be shorn of his leadership role.
"And we can assume that it's unlikely that she'll even think about forming an alliance with any one of us," she responded, showing some concern in her voice, though her expression remained mostly serene. "Don't forget that in response to the motive, she proposed that certain people be constantly watched."
Masashi gasped as he took a few seconds to understand what she was talking about. "Oh, yeah… the motive. The twenty billion yen... Sorry, everything that's happened swept me away, so it's slipped my mind."
He rubbed his head, feeling his cheeks redden from slight embarrassment. "I guess we should talk about it as well, since ignoring it doesn't seem like a wise idea. So what do you think of it?"
Mari tapped her chin with a finger. "This time, the motive doesn't involve anything threatened or stolen. It's wholly additive, and the reward is undeniably highly beneficial, to boot. That's why Monokuma passed it off as something to help us get ahead in our lives. So if one of us kills for this motive, it won't be done to right a wrong that Monokuma did us."
"Then who do you think are the likeliest ones to be tempted by the motive?"
"It's pretty meaningless to answer that, if you ask me. Money's a pretty important thing in our lives and can be used for many different reasons. Any of us, including me, would benefit somehow from it," she answered. "But if I had to guess... it'd be someone living in poor conditions like Tanjiro and Kumi. Like it or not, Maiha had a point. She would benefit from the motive the least since she already has a lot of money, whereas the poor students would benefit the most from the money."
"Hmm... I get what you're saying, but I'm not sure whether that's exactly the right approach here."
Though he understood her reasoning, he found it rather unbelievable that Tanjiro and Kumi would ever kill, from what he had seen of them. They might benefit the most from the motive, but both seemed like very kind and sweet guys, and unlike Sorao, they had shown no signs of having a fouler side. And Sorao also lived in a rather poor environment, so that was another strike against him.
"What should I do to discourage the others from going for the motive?" Masashi asked next.
"You could try to do some bond-building events, though given what's just happened, don't be surprised if the others come off as a bit lukewarm," Mari replied.
"Yeah, no denying that." Masashi hoped that relations with the others would go smoother tomorrow, since by that time, the others would have had time to cool off.
"In any case, I think our plan to send a distress signal will likely make the others think twice about killing," she said. "We're actually doing something to raise our chances of being rescued, after all."
The prospect that the plan might work excited Masashi, but then he thought about the other outcome: what if the plan were not to work? What if help never came, despite their efforts to contact the outside world somehow? Then the group might become frustrated that his plan had not led to their rescue, and eventually, someone like Sorao might use the opportunity to overthrow him.
In a way, Mari had not actually saved him; she instead had delayed his downfall by a few days. Masashi could still feel how much Maiha's attack and Sorao's betrayal smarted in his heart, and the wound was not fully healed, the pain having waned for now.
But from glancing at her again, he grew not only in his appreciation of her but also in his gladness of the current state of affairs. Things had definitely not turned out as he had expected when the day had begun, but it could be much, much worse right now, and if his title of Ultimate Lucky Student truly meant anything, then the plan might work, and the whole ordeal would come to its sweet end at last.
There was a possibility of failure, but as long as there was a possibility of success, Masashi would not give up his hope.
"Yeah... You're right, Mari." Masashi smiled. "With this plan, and you by my side, maybe things will play out for the better. Maybe we'll escape this killing game."
Hello, everyone! It's time for the motive! This time, it's very simple: the blackened gets a lot of money for killing someone. It's already been done in Danganronpa, but I thought that a simpler motivation might work here. It's not one of the commonest motives for crime for nothing. Sorry that I'm not particularly original this time.
Anyway, most of the chapter's mainly about the fact that Masashi's lies have come back to punish him. Aren't unintended consequences fun to deal with? At least Mari's the deputy now, and Masashi now thinks that Sorao may truly be an asshole, so that's swell.
Now that you know this chapter's motive and have seen how things have changed for the characters, I'm interested in hearing your theories and guesses on what will happen later. Which characters do you think will have died by the end of Chapter 3?